Category: Computer bits

The new Windows XP desktop system the computer guys rolled out at work just didn’t fit the way I work, so I decided to install Fedora on the box instead (2.4 GHz Dell Optiplex GX270). Too many constraints on their desktop model, including a 30 MB limit on your login profile which apparently includes all your data files as well. Heck, my stored mail alone takes up more than 30 MB.

Like Fedora Core 1, Core 2 was a pretty easy install, and the 2.6 linux kernel seems much peppier than 2.4. Compiling GCC 3.4 took hardly any time at all. The only glitch I ran into was the BIOS version on the computer caused the XOrg server problems with detecting the proper graphics card settings, leaving the display stuck at 640×480.

Argh. Spend a couple of hours trying to troubleshoot the X server and figure out how to make it do different screen resolutions. Google search yielded several promising posts and web pages that said the GX270 BIOS version A03 was the source of the problem and and upgrade to the latest version would fix it.

Download the latest BIOS version (A04) from Dell and copied it to a floppy. Uh oh, the BIOS flashing program only runs under Windows.

No problem, I’ll just make a DOS boot disk, boot off the floppy and run the flasher from the disk.

Well, then I discover that you can’t make bootable floppies with Win2K (the only other Windows machine I had around).

Crap. Stoopid Windows. I guess MS has decided nobody needs to boot off floppy disk anymore.

Stumble around trying to come up with a way to get around this. Finally I remember that I have a Win2K CD! But that means I have to wipe out the FC2 that I just installed. Well, nothing else to do so I break down, install Win2K just to flash the BIOS, then reinstall FC2. PITA.

But finally, I have a working, stable (at least until I start hacking at it) installation of Fedora. And so far I like what I see. Working on getting Apache properly configured and migrating stuff over from my old Sparc20. I think I’ll even try using it to replace my Win2K box for a while and see how it goes with OpenOffice.

This is going to be fun…:)

Ok, so the laptop is running quite nicely, and I’ve tested the wireless in a couple of spots at work. I even did some wardriving last night on the way home from eating out. Found a surprising number of APs on the short drive home.
Now the wife is pestering me to get some kind of wirless network thing going on with our desktop.
Ok. Just dropped a brick load of dough on the laptop, and now I have to go out and spend more. That’s technology for you. Well, something I planned anyway…just not quite so soon.
So now I have to learn about wireless networking. I figure I’ll need a wireless AP to start. Tried to do some wired networking between the two, but I only succeeded in messing up the desktop so that I can’t even connect through the modem. It dials and connects, but all I get are socket errors when I try to get online.
No problem, I’ve been wanting to rebuild the machine anyway. It’s been a while since I last did it, and some things are getting flaky. And thanks to the 160GB hard drive I put in it, I can back everything up to that drive and safely blow away the contents of the primary.

Now this is what true computer hacking is all about. Make your computer beep at you or flash keyboard lights when your firewall drops packets. It’s a simple one, but I think it has a high wow factor, especially for non-admins and non-geeks. Maybe I’m just easily entertained.
The Spinning Cube of Potential Doom is another nifty visualization for firewalls.
I like the beeping one. I’ll have to try that out on my server.

Guess it was just a matter of time. Now worms are propagating through cell phones. This particular one is more of a pest than anything else, but it probably won’t be long before a nastier worm comes by.
If I ever get a BT cellphone, I’ll have to make sure to guard against this kind of thing.
Found at Slashdot.

Continue reading “Cell phone worms”

It’s here! It’s here! It arrived sooner than expected, but I won’t be able to pick it up until I head home for the day. Maybe I’ll cut out of work for lunch and go pick it up. The wife will be happy it’s here already. Looking forward to playing with it and checking it out.
It’s got more horsepower than my desktop at home. I think it’s time for an upgrade soon…